ABSTRACT
Quebec has enjoyed a somewhat marginal position with regard to Mikhail Bakhtin studies. Indeed, scholars in Quebec have been interested in Bakhtin since his introduction to the West by Julia Kristeva, but have generally sought to distance themselves from her authoritative 'exposition' of his works. A brief exposition of the various trends in Bakhtin scholarship in Quebec is followed by a detailed analysis of sociocriticism, which charts the complex relationship of the sociocritical approach with Kristeva's interpretation of dialogism. This chapter focuses on the turning-point of Bakhtin studies in the West: the internationalization of Bakhtin, with the development of Bakhtin studies in the United States and an analysis of the dominant issues of the times. Any account of Bakhtin's reception in Quebec should probably start with the figure of Andre Belleau. A brief survey of the socio-political and cultural history of Quebec seems in order, for its particulars remain relatively unknown in Europe, despite some truly outstanding facts.
